paroxysm : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: paroxysm	by the DICT Development Group
2 results for paroxysm
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
paroxysm n a sudden uncontrollable attack; "a paroxysm of giggling"; "a fit of coughing"; "convulsions of laughter" Synonym(s): paroxysm, fit, convulsion
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Paroxysm \Par"ox*ysm\, n. [F. paroxysme, Gr. [?], fr. [?] to sharpen, irritate; [?] beside, beyond + [?] to sharpen, from [?] sharp.] 1. (Med.) The fit, attack, or exacerbation, of a disease that occurs at intervals, or has decided remissions or intermissions. --Arbuthnot. 2. Any sudden and violent emotion; spasmodic passion or action; a convulsion; a fit. The returning paroxysms of diffidence and despair. --South.